Cartridge-making machine.



J. F.0BRIEN.

CARTRIDGE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED No.4, 1913.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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CARTRIDGE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 1330.4, 1913.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

2 SHEETS- SHEET 24 JAMES F. OBRIEN, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

CARTRIDGE-MAKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

Application led December 4, 1913. Serial No. 804,686.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, JAMES F. OBRIEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cartridge-Making Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for forming cartridges, for explosives or the like, from paper or similar material; and the invention consists in certain combinations and arrangements as are hereinafter specifically pointed out.

In its preferred form, this invention includes a rotatable hollow cylindrical mandrel capable of expansionand contraction, being preferably slit longitudinally and having a means for normally holding it expanded. Around this rotatable mandrel is arranged an expansive frame carrying a number of rollers adapted each to press toward the mandrel and to press thepaper sheet into engagement therewith. The .frame and rollers are open when the operation commences and, immediately the paper has been inserted, the rollers close down on the paper and the subsequent revolution of the mandrel causes the paper to roll about the mandrel. The paper is fed to the mandrel with one end overhanging the mandrel end; and means are provided for folding the overhanging end of thepaper over the end of the mandrel and over an ejector button Which'normally rests in the end of theA mandrel. lVhen the rolling and folding operations have been completed, the ejector button is operated to remove theiinished product from the mandrel.

The mechanism for accomplishing all of these operations are explained in detail in the following specification, the preferred form of the invention being shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved machine, Fig. 2 isan elevation yfrom the opposite side, Fig. 3 is. an end elevation taken as indicated by line 3 3 of Fig. 1, Fig. l is an enlarged section taken as indicated by line 4 4 of Fig. 1, Fig. 5 is a plan of the portions shown inFig. 4, Fig. 6 is an enlarged section showing the mandrel construction, and showing the position of a sheet ofpaper thereon. Figs. 7 and 8 show the paper blank and the finished cartridge.

In the drawings the numeral l0 designates a suitable supporting frame for the mechanisms about to be described, 11 designates a drive shaft suitably journaled in the frame, and 12 a main shaft suitabl journaled therein. The main shaft 12 carries a large gear 13 meshing with a pinion 14 on the drive shaft; and shaft 11 may be driven either by a hand crank 15 lor by any suitable power. Directly mounted upon said gear 13 is a gear ring 16 having spiral or diagonal teeth over a portion of its periphery and havinga blank space 17 as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The teeth of gear ring 16 engage with a spiral gear 18 mounted upon hollow shaft 19 in suitable bearings 20 on the frame. This hollow shaft 19carries the mandrel 21 upon which the cartridges are formed. The gear 13 carries a cam 25 adapted to operate a follower k26 mounted upon an arm 27 pivoted at 23. Arm 27 is connected by rod 29 with pivoted ejector arm 30 so that oscillations of arm 27 caused by the cam 25 will be transmitted to the ejector arm 30. The ejector arm normally remains in' the position shown in the drawing, a spring 31 normally holding the parts in the position shown. In Figs. 1 and 2 the mechanism is shown in such position that the ejector arm has just been moved in the direction indicated by the arrow and has moved back to its normal position. The upper end of the ejector arm connects directly with an ejector rod 35 which extends through the hollow mandrel 21 to a point near its farther end. The ejector rod 35 carries a cone 36 which normally engages cooperating members 37 on the inside ofthe mandrel to hold the mandrel normally expanded. The mandrel is made in hollow cylindrical form and provided with any suitable number of longitudinal slits 38, which slits extend back from the end of the mandrel to a point where the mandrel enters the hollow shaft 19, (over the whole operating portions of the mandrel) When the rod 35 is moved in the direction indicated, the cone 36' is removed from engagement with the members 37 and allows the mandrel to be contracted. On the extreme end of the ejector rod 35 an ejector button 4.0 is loosely mounted. This ejector button is normally in the position shown in Fig. 6, or approximately in that position, filling the end of the mandrel and forming a base against which the overhanging edges of the paper may be folded or crimped.

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The button 40 has a concave outer face 41 and has a conical inner face 42 which enables it to be easily drawn into the mandrel. The button is mounted upon the rod 85, between a nut or other member 43 and the cone 36, so as to have a certain amount of independent motion. lVhen ythe rod 35 is moved in the direction indicated, the cone 36 is moved out of the members 87 to allow themandrel to slightly contract before the button 40 is moved at all. Movement of the button 40 causes removal of the finished cartridge from the mandrel; the rod has sul'licient movement to throw the finished cartridge clear oil the mandrel.

There is a plurality of rollers 50 surrounding the mandrel` with axis parallel to the mandrel axis, and adapted to press a sheet of paper downwardly against the mandrel. These rollers 50 are mounted on expanding frames which are preferably constructed as follows: The rollers 50 are directly carried in bearings in links 51 arranged around the mandrel as best shown in F ig. 4 and, arranged so that their inner edges 51a are concentric with the mandrel and approach closely to its surface when the parts are in the positions shown in Fig. 4.

VThe links and rollers are carried on suitable pivoted levers. There are preferably three sets of links and three sets of carrying levers, each set including a lever 55 pivoted on a suitable axle 56 and connected at its upper end at 57 directly with the uppermost link 51, so that the links and rollers are directly supported from the levers The other levers 58 of each set extend under the mandrel and have ends 59 which engage notches 60 in the links 51h, normally holdling these links up in the position shown. A spring 61 holds the levers 55 and 58 toward each other, holding the parts normally in the position shown. The levers are spread apart and the rollers allowed to loosen around the mandrel by the following described mechanism. The :levers 55 and 58 have extensions and 58a carrying adjustable studs 62. These adjustable studs bear against-a squared bar 63 mounted in suitable bearings 64 and adapted to be turned on its longitudinal axis by the operation of a cam 65 ona follower arm 66 which is directly attached to squared bar v 63. Oscillation of the follower 66 and the bar 63 in the direction indicated in Fig. 3 will throw the levers 55 and 58 away from each other and loosen the rollers about the mandrel. During the period of looseningr of the rollers, being the period of engagement of follower arm 66 by cam .65, a sheet of paper may be fed to the mandrel in the manner indicated' at 69`in dotted lines in Fig. 4. This sheet of paper is fed against `a guide stop formed by three guide fingers 70 each pivoted at 71 yto one of the levers 55 and each having an extension 72 which engages an extension 73 on each of the levers 58. The ends 7()a of the guide fingers are adapted to fall to the surface of the mandrel when the levers 55 and 58 are spread apart; and the ends 70 are all in a single line parallel to the axis 0f the mandrel` forming a stop guide parallel to the axis of the mandrel against which the forward end of the sheet may be pressed. The sheet is shown in Fig. 7. Tts forward edge 75 is .shoved under the uppermost roller 50 against the guide lingers 70, with one edge of the sheet overhanging the outer end of the mandrel. Immediately the sheet is fed into place the operation of the machine causes the rotation of the mandrel and causes the contraction of the rollers 50 about the mandrel to hold the sheet against it. The rollers rotate by frictional contact with the mandrel and the paper. The sheet rolls up about the mandrel and as is best illustrated in Fig. 6 with its end overhanging the ejector button 40. The rear edge 76 of the sheet is diagonal and the longer side edge 77 is the one for overhang'mg the end of the mandrel, it being at this end of the finished cartridge that the bottom is formed. The shorter side edge 78 winds about the mandrel and the diagonal edge 76 finally comes to the position somewhat as illustrated in Fig. 8. After the mandrel has made the required number of turns to wind the paper sheets completely about it, it is rotated one more complete revolution while the crimping of the over-hanging portions of the sheet takes place. This crimping operation is caused by a crimping wheel 80 which has crimping teeth in its periphery as is best shown in Fig. 3. The crimping wheel is pivoted on an arm 81 which is itself pivotally mounted on a shaft 82. Normally the crimping wheel stands in the position shown in Fig. 3. A cam follower arm 83 is mounted upon the shaft 82 and adapted to be engaged by a cam 84 mounted upon the main shaft. This cam is so placed that immediately the paper has been entirely wound about the mandrel, the crimper wheel 80 is oscillated toward the mandrel in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3. The crimper wheel is free to revolve, and its teeth coming into contact with the paper overhanging the end of the mandrel cause that 7portion Ofpaper tube to be crimped into corrugations and to be folded gradually inwardly to approximately the position illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 6. The crimping wheel is held in this operative position during about one revolution of the mandrel, and is then allowed to return to its normal position under the influence of a Spring 85. Immediately the crimper wheel returns to its normal position, the crimp hammer 86 is optially folded crimped paper at the end of the lmandrel, pressing the paper down flat against the concave surface of the ejector button i-O, finishing the end of the cartridge in the form shown in F ig. 8. During this hammering operation, the mandrel is still revolving and stops revolution at just about the time the hammer makes its last impact. rlhe blank space in the gear 16 then comes opposite the gear 18 and the mandrel is stopped revolving while the ejector operates in the direction indicated to eject the finished cartridge, the button 40 pressing against thelbottom of the finished cartridge. During the back stroke of they ejector the mandrel is still at rest and a new sheet may be inserted as before described. After the new sheet is inserted the mechanism is in the position shown in the drawings and ready to form the next cartridge.

1. A cartridge making machine, comprising a rotatable hollow contractile mandrel, means for normally expanding the mandrel including a longitudinally movable wedge operating within the mandrel, paper holding rollers arranged around the mandrel with axes parallel thereto, means to move the rollers to and from' the mandrel to press a paper sheet against the mandrel and to relieve said pressure, means for folding the end edge of the paper sheet across the end of the mandrel, and a longitudinally movable ejector within the mandrel, said ejector and mandrel expanding wedge beingicop- `erated so that the wedge is moved longitudinally to allow the mandrel yto contract slightly before the ejector operates to remove a finished cartridge from the mandrel.

2. A cartridge making machine, comprising a rotatable hollow contractile` mandrel, means for normally lholding the mandrel expanded comprising a longitudinallymov-v able cone within the mandrel and coperating members on the inside of the mandrel, an ejector button normally within the end of the mandrel, an ejector rod loosely connected with the ejector button and rigidly connected with the expanding cone so that longitudinal movement of the rod first causes movement of the cone and then causesv -move the leversto and from each other.

ing a rotatable hollow contractile mandrel, means for normally holding the mandrel expanded comprising a longitudinally movable cone within the mandrel and members on the inside of the mandrel coperating 70 with the cone, an ejector rod extending longitudinally through the andrel and means for moving the rod longitudinally, said cone being rigidly mounted upon the rod, a conical ejector button loosely mounted on the rod and normally closing the end of the mandrel, means for rolling a sheet of paper or the like around the mandrel with one edge overhanging the mandrel end and the button, said means including a mandrel rotating mechanism and an expansive roller carrying frame around the mandrel; rollers mounted on the frame with axes parallel to the mandrel axis, means to normally hold the roller frame contracted, and means to expand the roller frame.

4. In a device ofthe character described, a rotatable mandrel, an expansible roller carrying frame surrounding the mandrel` comprising a plurality of sets of links each 9o set encompassing the mandrel,- levers arranged in pairs one pair for each link set, the levers of each pair being connected one to one end link and the other to the other end link, and means to move the levers to and from each other. f

5. In a device of the character described, a rotatable mandrel, an expansible roller carrying frame `surrounding the mandrel comprising a plurality of sets of links each set encompassing the mandrel, levers arranged in pairs one pair for each link set, the levers of each pain being connected one to one end link and the other to the other end link, a guide stop comprising a stop finger pivotally mounted upon one lever of each set anden-` gaging the other lever and having an end adapted to engage the mandrel surfaceewhen the levers are spread apart, and means to.,

6. A cartridge making machine or thelike,- comprising a hollow contractile mandrel, means for normally expanding the mandrel including a longitudinally movable wedge operating within the mandrel, means 1.15

for rolling a ysheet aboutjtheV mandrel to form a tube with its end overhanging the endof the mandrel, means for folding the end of the tube across the end of the mandrel, a longitudinally movable ejector within the mandrel, and a single operating means for both the ejector and the expanding wedge so that the wedge is moved longitudinally to allow the mandrel to contract beforeI the ejector operates to remove a finished cartridge from the mandrel.

7. A cartridge making -machine or the like,` comprising a hollow contractile mandrel, means for normally expanding the mandrel including a longitudinally movable Wedge operating Within the mandrel, means for rolling a sheet about the mandrel to form a tube with its end overhanging the end of the mandrel, means for folding the end of the tube across the end of the mandrel, a longitudinally movable ejector ivithin the mandrel, an operating rod for the ejector and the Wedge, the Wedge being rigidly mounted upon said rod and the ejector being loosely mounted upon said rod so that the rod and Wedge may move a short distance before the ejector is moved.

S. A cartridge making machine or the like, comprising a. hollow contractile mandrel, means for rolling a sheet about the mandrel to form a tube with its end overhanging the mandrel end, means for folding the end .of the tube across the end of the mandrel to close the end of the tube, means for normally holdingthe mandrel expanded including a longitudinally movable wedge operating within the mandrel, a longitudinally movable ejector button normally closing the end of the mandrel and adapted to be moved outwardly against theclosedfend of the cartridge tube, and an day oi' November 1913.

JAMES F. OBRIEN. Witnesses:v

ELwooD H. BARKELEW, M. W. PORTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by 'addressing the Commissioner ot Patents. Washington, D. C. 

